Interesting in purchasing kitchen knives and I have no idea what to buy

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Interesting in purchasing kitchen knives and I have no idea what to buy

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I began looking at Henckles Zwilling knives as I had thought them to be good knives, but upon further research it seems there are a myriad of higher quality knives to consider. What knives other than a chef's knife and parring would be useful for your average cooking? A bread knife would only be used occassionally, not regularly. Thank you for your assistance!

What type of knife(s) do you think you want? A basic kitchen knife collection, chef's, parring....anything else that you would find useful

Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing? My wife and I were recently married and need some kitchen knives. We are replacing a hodge podge of random knives haha

What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
Aesthetics- not overly important to me as much as function
Edge Quality/Retention- not sharp at all
Ease of Use-difficult as they are older and mostly dull
Comfort-not uncomfortable I would say

What grip do you use? hammer

What kind of cutting motion do you use? slicing, rocking motion, push-cut; depending on what it is I'm cutting

Where do you store them? currenly in a drawer, but anywhere suitable would be fine

Have you ever oiled a handle? no

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use? we have two wooden ones, one solid wood, the other has a laminate top

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing? I use a honing stone mostly, occassionaly a pull through

Have they ever been sharpened? yes

What is your budget? I would prefer the basic few knives costing $300 or less combined, accessories not included, such as a suitable cutting board, sharpener, or storage unit

What do you cook and how often? A variety of meals, mostly dinners involving meats, fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. We cook on average 5+ times a week

Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)? Knives that can potentially last us a lifetime,if possible, with a sharp edge. Maintenance is not too much of an issue as we are willing to hand wash, dry, and oil them as needed.

Knives that can potentially last us a lifetime,if possible, with a sharp edge. Maintenance is not too much of an issue as we are willing to hand wash, dry, and oil them as needed.

Welcome! You've just opened a world of possibilities. You likely only need 2 good knives; a gyuto (Japanese chef's knife) and a small paring knife. You can get a nice gyuto for less than $200 and actually could find a nice custom paring knife through one of the makers here with what's left over. Then you need to spend a bit for something to sharpen and a nice board--there are local vendors for these items as well.

once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right

Welcome! You've just opened a world of possibilities. You likely only need 2 good knives; a gyuto (Japanese chef's knife) and a small paring knife. You can get a nice gyuto for less than $200 and actually could find a nice custom paring knife through one of the makers here with what's left over. Then you need to spend a bit for something to sharpen and a nice board--there are local vendors for these items as well.

Do you have any suggestions as to make and model of the chef's and paring knives? Also a suggested type of sharpener and cutting board?

For sharpening, I would suggest waterstones from either JKI or JKS or JNS. All offer a nice selection and Jon has a youtube channel for sharpening here, or if you would prefer a dvd you can find that from Dave here. Jon also sells a nice variety of knives from which to choose which would fit your budget as does Korin which is another KKF vendor. I would highly recommend Dave the Boardsmith for cutting boards and you can find his site here

I would look around and see which chef knives interest you and then maybe ask some more questions, many here are familiar with most things you will find. As for the paring knives I would look at some recent threads from Ealy or HHH knives.

Finally, where are you located?
Hopefully this will be enough to get you started in your search.
Cheers

once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right

I was thinking about the Hiromoto AS, Murray Carter SFGZ Funayuki, Ashi, or the Konosuki. Any comments, suggestions, or additions to these would be helpful. Which can hold an edge better, sharpen easily, and how much care do they require? And like I said, other knife suggestions are welcomed. Thanks

Congrats on the recent marriage! The basic (and some would say only required) knife set is chef's, parer, and bread. I have a lot more specialized knives this, but I could easily live with those three. But since I have drawer and wall space... :P

Of the knives you list, I only have experience with the Carter SFGZs. Thin and great cutters.

Based on your $300 budget for a set of knives and your requirements, I'd buy the following.
* 240mm Gesshin Ginga in SS. Comes with a saya so it can live in a drawer without a special drawer knife block. SS as it's easier to maintain and this may make wife happy if she's not as dedicated in knife care. If space is limited, then you might opt for a 210mm.
* Forschner/Victornix parer. This way you can spend more money on your chef's knife.

For sharpening stones, agree that JKI, JKS, JNS and Korin have great options. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, was going to recommend this combo stone, but it's out of stock. Korin has combo stones, and there's a 15% off sale right now. If you want individual stones, then Dave Martell's core set is really nice.

If you're interested in a cutting board that requires less maintenance, I highly recommend the Japanese synthetic cutting board sold by Japanese Knife Imports. It's not on their website, but it requires a lot less maintenance, you can get it wet without worries, and it's easy on your knives.

The Hiromoto AS and Carter SFGZ both require care. I've owned both. They have carbon steel cores so you cannot leave them wet or leave food on them. You have to either wipe them down or wash them immediately after use, and keep them dry after washing.